Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Title:The Immortal HeightsAuthor: Sherry ThomasSource/Format: Won, HardcoverMore Details: Young Adult, FantasyPublisher/Publication Date: Balzer + Bray, October 13, 2015GoodreadsAmazonBarnes & NobleBook DepositorySynopsis from Goodreads...
In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.

However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort…

Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?

With The Immortal Heights, Sherry Thomas brings the acclaimed Elemental Trilogy to its breathtaking conclusion...

Going into The Immortal Heights I had high expectations—I really liked The Burning Sky and I absolutely loved The Perilous Sea. No worries, because The Immortal Heights was a fantastic end to this trilogy.

The Immortal Heights picked up right where the story left off, opening with a battle that was set up at the end of the previous book. It was an exciting right from the start and continued to be so till the very end. One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the use of prophesies as a major part of the concept. It does use the chosen one trope, but it also stresses the idea that what was seen maybe isn’t exactly what happened. As such, things that were considered fact in book one—things that couldn’t be changed—their meaning was subsequently called into question. Another aspect I enjoyed was the action, there was plenty of it.

All of my favorite characters from books 1 and 2 were back, especially Titus and Iolanthe. This book was the conclusion to their story. Both characters experienced some growth as more about Iolanthe was finally revealed. Basically, the truth about the situation was finally made clear, and I’m glad my questions were answered.

The Bane was just as terrible as the previous books made him out to be. He does finally make a direct appearance in The Immortal Heights, and he was a horrible mage who did things that were just not okay. The entire trilogy revolved around him and Atlantis, so it was nice to see that he got some backstory, even if it just made me despise him more. Besides the whole taking-over-the-world kind of thing, he had another reason for his actions—one I won’t reveal because of spoilers.

The setting was fantastic as always, beginning in the desert before jumping from place to place when the characters needed to move quickly. It was also nice to see some of Atlantis because it had remained as a looming shadow over Titus and Iolanthe. And while it seemed like an ideal place—albeit heavily fortified—there was evidence of persistent problems.

The ending is something I’m a fan of for many different reasons, but I won’t go into anything specifically. It was just really nice.

While I am sad that this series is over, I’m glad to have read it since all three books are now some of my favorites. In light of that, I’m just waiting to see what Sherry Thomas writes next.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

In a pursuit that has spanned continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe, or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus must act decisively to deliver a final blow to the Bane, ending his reign of terror for good.

However, getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible—finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort…

Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?

With The Immortal Heights, Sherry Thomas brings the acclaimed Elemental Trilogy to its breathtaking conclusion...

""It might be delusional on my part to hope my actions will matter, but better that than sitting back in the belief that they won't. Not trying is the surest way of never making a difference.""--The Immortal Heights by Sherry ThomasWhat are you reading this week?

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future...

This trilogy keeps getting better and better, and I can now firmly say that I enjoyed The Perilous Sea more than I did The Burning Sky. There were a lot of things I liked—the characters, setting, and especially the story. The chosen one trope was still present, but I liked the way it was handled anyway.

The plot was divided between the chapters—the Sahara Desert and England—it was evident from early on that the desert chapters took place after the parts in England. At first I had some confusion about what was going on, but then the plot evened out and from there the story took off.

Everything wasn’t as it seemed with prophesies written by Titus’ mother, and there was a lot of things that were revealed about the characters. There was also a lot of emotional turmoil throughout as situations changed quickly. I always had some suspicion about what was happening, but the story didn’t play out the way I thought it would. There were plenty of elements that surprised me. So, The Perilous Sea definitely wasn’t a boring book.

Iolanthe and Titus make a pretty good team, and I liked seeing their relationship continue to develop. They had chemistry, and it was easy to see that they cared for one another. Suffice to say, all of my favorite characters from book one were back—the boys at Eton—as well as some new ones.

The villains were terrible. From the scant pieces that were shown of them, they were developed well despite being absent for the majority of the book. They definitely had a lot of influence and knew how to use it. The Bane, despite my dislike for him, was an essential part of the story since the events that took place directly concerned him and were often times carried out under his orders.

The ending was just…unexpected, thus I will probably read The Immortal Heights next, because honestly, I want to know how Iolanthe and Titus’ story ends. I have my fingers crossed that they actually get a happy ending.

Friday, December 4, 2015

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future..."Wintervale was on his feet. "I am all for it."
"And everyone else?" Sutherland gestured at the rest of the room.
"They too, of course," Wintervale answered for them."--The Perilous Sea by Sherry ThomasWhich do you prefer: a gift card or a book as as gift?

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.

Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life...

“It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning…”

That quote above pretty much sums up what happened to the main character of this novel. A ruined elixir accompanied by a bolt of lightning from there Iolanthe Seaborne was in trouble, lots of it.

This is one trilogy I’ve been meaning to start and I’m glad that I finally got around to it. That is to say I enjoyed The Burning Sky. There were a lot of aspects I liked, including the setting and all of the details typically associated with fantasy—magic, interesting creatures, etc.—thus, this was my kind of novel.

Iolanthe was a pretty interesting character with some faults. Despite repeated warnings she ended up doing stuff that landed her in some pretty hot water. The antagonists of the book had a lot of influence and resources so obviously this presented a roadblock to Iolanthe—who was basically without many connections. Titus, I liked him—yes he was a prince, but his backstory was of interest to me, and I hope to learn more about his mother in the next book. It would be an understatement to say that his mother had a minimal role because despite being deceased, the lingering clues to her life left a big shadow across the entire story—so much so that she might as well have been there anyway.

The book was easy to get into and the plot was pretty good. The Burning Sky relies heavily on the chosen one trope, but I didn’t mind it too much because I was more interested in how the story was going to unfold. After all, Iolanthe was pretending to be a boy while the antagonists were practically on her heels. I don’t have any comments about the pacing of the plot because this was a pretty solid novel. There were enough details to keep me interested—plenty of small things that happened around the central focus of the story.

I still have some questions—about the antagonists, Titus’ mother, and even some regarding Iolanthe herself—so I look forward to reading The Perilous Sea, which I plan on doing very soon.

Friday, November 13, 2015

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

My 56 this week comes from The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas, a book I recently finished.

Synopsis from Goodreads...It all began with a ruined elixir and a bolt of lightning...

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's been told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the most powerful tyrant and mage the world has ever known. This would be a suicide task for anyone, let alone a reluctant sixteen-year-old girl with no training.

Guided by his mother's visions and committed to avenging his family, Prince Titus has sworn to protect Iolanthe even as he prepares her for their battle with the Bane. But he makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the tyrant closing in, Titus must choose between his mission—and her life...

"None of the opening spells Iolanthe knew worked. She did not have power over wood. Water was useless here, as was fire."--The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas What are you reading this week?